The Normal Heart (2014)

[Plain Old Tele]

Discuss.

[Goffe]

It's a tearjerker (huge plus) and some scenes are good, but on the whole the film is dull, a dull drama that relies on great actors. 55/100

Edited January 29, 2015 by Goffe

[Leyla]

Didnt find the film dull at all

beautiful, heartbreaking, with great acting & chem between the actors

really hard to rewatch tho   

[rockNrollaDIM]

I was hoping to like this more, and I did at first, but by the end I just wanted it to be over. There were some tearjerker moments, the movie scares the hell out of you, and Bomer and Kitsch are both gorgeous and give great performances as does Julia Roberts.

 

But Mark Ruffalo ruins the movie for me. It's like he was in an altogether different film, "The Normal Emmy Reel". He spends more than half of his performance shrieking like a lunatic, doesn't bring any nuance to the character, and isn't believable in his relationship with Felix. Maybe this is how Larry Kramer or whoever Ned is based on truly acts in real life, but on film it was total overkill and makes a character you are supposed to root for someone you root against.

 

The film ends on a completely bleak note, with no hope, or mention of how far we have come today with reducing the number of HIV cases through education and preventative measures along with prolonging the length and quality of life of HIV/AIDS patients. And then there is this weird moment right before the credits where we are shown Kitsch's character's card being pulled, implying he has died, that feels very much like schadenfreude ("you booted our anti-hero from your group, and now you're dead, ha ha!"). Didn't leave a good taste in my mouth.

 

C/C-

Edited February 10, 2015 by aDIM Stormborn

[CoolioD1]

I'm pretty much with adim on this. A lot of the acting, not just Ruffalo, felt like big "LOOK AT ME I'M SAYING IMPORTANT THINGS" people w/ really Bomer and Kitsch being the only ones able to avoid it and add humanity to their characters. Also it's a tv movie and that's a problem because it feels edited down to fit a timeslot. the film gives itself little breathing room and rushes towards each tragic event. The play it's based on is acclaimed and I'm sure it's better because LOUD acting works better in the theater, with movies you gotta be more personal.

[filmlover]

Matt Bomer was heartbreaking in this.